Chords + Lyrics | Brown Sugar
Intro
||: C/E G C | C F/A C :|| x4
| Eb/G Ebadd9/G Eb/G | C F/A C |
| Ab Db/F Ab Db/F Eb/G Bb | C F/A C |
| Eb/G Ebadd9/G Eb/G | C F/A C |
| Ab Db/F Ab Db/F Eb/G Bb | F/A C |
Verse 1
| C | C |
Gold Coast slave ship bound for cotton fields.
| F | F |
Sold in the market down in New Orleans.
| C | C |
Skydog slaver know he’s doin’ all right.
| Bb | C |
Hear him whip the women, just around midnight.
Chorus 1
| G | G | C F/A | C F/A |
Brown Sugar, how come you taste so good, yeah?
| G | G | C F/A | C F/A C |
Brown Sugar, just like a young girl should, ah ha, now.
Instrumental 1
| Eb/G Ebadd9/G Eb/G | C F/A C |
| Ab Db/F Ab Db/F Eb/G Bb | F/A C |
Verse 2
| C | C |
Drums beatin’ cold, English blood runs hot.
| F (A/C#)| F (A/C#) |
Lady of the house wonderin’ when it’s gonna stop.
| C (F/A)| C (F/A) |
House boy knows that he’s doin’ all right.
| Bb | C |
You should have heard him, just around midnight.
Chorus 2
Brown Sugar, how come you taste so good, now?
Brown Sugar, just like a young girl should, yeah, yeah!
Solo
| Eb/G Ebadd9/G Eb/G | C F/A C |
| Ab Db/F Ab Db/F Eb/G Bb | F/A C |
| Eb/G Ebadd9/G Eb/G | C F/A C |
| Ab Db/F Ab Db/F Eb/G Bb F/A | F/A C |
| Eb Ab/C Eb | C F/A C |
| Ab Db/F Ab Db/F Eb/G Bb F/A | F/A C |
| Eb/G Ebadd9/G Eb/G | C F/A C |
| Ab Db/F Ab Db/F Eb/G Bb | C F/A C |
Chorus 3
Aww, take it all Brown Sugar, how come you taste so good?
Oh, let me tell all about, the Brown Sugar, just like a black girl should, yeah
Verse 3 (as verse 2)
Now, I bet your mama was a tent show queen.
And all her boyfriends were sweet 16.
I’m no schoolboy but I know what I like.
You should have heard them, just around midnight.
Chorus 4
Brown Sugar, how come you taste so good, Baby?
Oh, no, no, Brown Sugar, just like a young girl should, yeah, yeah.
Instrumental 3 (pre chorus 5)
| G | G | C (F/A) | C (F/A) |
Chorus 5
||: G | G | C (F/A) | C (F/A) :||
I said, yeah, yeah, yeah, woo. How come you, how come you dance so good?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, woo. Just like a, just like a black girl should.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, woo.
Outro
||: G (C/G) | G (C/G) | C (F/A) C |C (F/A) C :||
Brown Sugar Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning Brown Sugar. I’ve used stem separation to extract the guitar while keeping the drums, bass, keys, and vocals intact.
After studying the chords and TAB, use my backing tracks to prepare for playing this tune with a band.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
The intro and instrumental sections are complex—at least from a traditional theory standpoint. Keith Richards’ approach is simpler: “Move the same idea over here.”
The first set of intro chords are as follows:
C/E – G – C – C – F/A – C.
Played on strings 2–4, this is a classic rock ‘n’ roll riff, shifting the same shape from G to C. Keith then moves it to unexpected fret positions, changes extensions, and gives the riff its signature sound:
Eb/G – Ebadd9/G – Eb/G.
Instead of moving to Ab, the Eb chord is extended to Ebadd9 before returning to the original sequence: C – F/A – C.
Then the riff shifts to Ab: Ab Db/F Ab Db/F Eb/G Bb in one bar!
This resolves back to: C F/A C.
Here’s the full intro and instrumental section:
||: C/E G C | C F/A C :|| x4
||: Eb/G Ebadd9/G Eb/G | C F/A C |
|1. Ab Db/F Ab Db/F Eb/G Bb | C F/A C :||
|2. Ab Db/F Ab Db/F Eb/G Bb | F/A C |
It’s almost the same twice, except the last time we don’t go to C before the F/A. Rhythm changes occur as well, which are best explained with TAB, find it further down this guitar lesson.
Verse
The verse simplifies, staying in C with a classic I – IV – I – bVIIx – I progression:
| C | C | F | F |
| C | C | Bb | C |
Later verses add slash chords:
| C | C | F (A/C#) | F (A/C#) |
| C (F/A) | C (F/A) | Bb | C |
Again, TAB is essential for accurate playing.
Chorus
The chorus moves V – I with slash chord variations on C, effectively creating a V – I – IV feel:
||: G | G | C F/A | C F/A :||
For the last chorus:
||: G | G | C F/A C | C F/A C :||
Outro
The outro applies the slash chord concept to G as well:
||: G (C/G) | G (C/G) | C (F/A) C | C (F/A) C :||
Again, you must study the TAB to get it.
Here’s a chord chart you can bring to the gig. Brown Sugar’s chords can be tricky to remember, so having this reference is crucial, especially since it’s designed for a single guitarist in a band.
Brown Sugar Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
You can download the chord chart in two formats: a static PDF or iReal Pro.
Using the iReal Pro app, you can change the key—though for Brown Sugar’s chords, it’s not really recommended. If you check out the TAB – you’ll understand why!
Brown Sugar | TAB
There’s a lot of TAB in this guitar lesson, let’s start with the opening riff and build from there.
Intro
The initial riff is played like this:
On top of this, there’s a second guitar. You don’t need to learn this, as the first guitar is more important and it’s difficult to combine the two, but here it is:
After these eight bars, the first guitar plays the main riff, which I’ve called the instrumental intro because the same concept returns later in an instrumental section:
Notice the subtle variations in this riff—you need to vary it or it will sound too rigid. The main change is how we end this section without playing a C before the F/A.
You don’t need to repeat these variations in exactly the same spot every time; Keith Richards likely never does.
Instrumental
Here’s the instrumental section. It’s played differently from what we did in the intro:
Solo
During the solo, we stick with this same concept, adding more subtle variation:
Verse
The first verse is played like this:
In the second verse, slash chords are applied to the F and C, like this (feel free to vary in verse 3):
Chorus
The chorus blends a big G, a lick, and the C – F/A riff:
The ending differs depending on the next section. The outro is similar but not identical:
There’s a lot of TAB in this tune! Once you can play it, follow along with the backing tracks and chord chart above.
By the time The Rolling Stones released Brown Sugar, they were already well-established
As the opening track and lead single from their 11th studio album, Sticky Fingers, Brown Sugar was a major chart success in 1971. It hit #1 in the U.S. and Canada, reached #2 in the U.K., and topped the charts in New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Ireland, and Switzerland.
By then, the Stones had already built a formidable catalogue of hits, including (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, Honky Tonk Women, Sympathy for the Devil, Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Ruby Tuesday, and As Tears Go By. Their rebellious image made them the bad-boy alternative to contemporary rivals The Beatles, who would break up the following year.
The Stones famously never quit, going on to release Wild Horses, Angie, Miss You, Beast of Burden, and Start Me Up.
Brown Sugar even secured a spot on Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, coming in at #495.
Brown Sugar Chords: Continue Learning
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Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
- (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
- All Right Now
- Honky Tonk Women
- Money (That’s What I Want)
- You Really Got Me
